US deficit for current budget year climbs to $2.24 trillion

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government’s deficit for the first nine months of this budget year has hit $2.24 trillion. That means the country is still on track for its second biggest deficit in history. In its monthly budget report, the Treasury Department said Tuesday that the deficit for the budget year that ends in September is running 9.1% below last year’s pace. The deficit for all of 2020 totaled a record $3.1 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that this year’s deficit will total a slightly smaller $3 trillion. The deficits in both years reflect the multitrillion-dollar spending packages the government has passed to combat the economic downturns caused by the coronavirus pandemic.